Annual Big Bite Night Introduces Students to New Culinary Neighborhood

Twenty-eight downtown Evanston restaurants will offer free food samplings to Northwestern University students as part of the annual Big Bite Night on Oct. 7.

The collaboration between Northwestern University, downtown Evanston restaurants and EVMark, the organization that manages and markets downtown Evanston, is designed to introduce new and returning students to their new culinary neighborhood.

The event is traditionally scheduled at the end of New Student Week on a Sunday evening when residence hall kitchens are closed. Hundreds of students gather at three downtown checkpoints to receive "goodie bags" with menus and walking directions.

Volunteers at Big Bite Night come from EVMark, the Associated Student Government, the Northwestern Class Alliance and individual restaurants.

National City Bank volunteered

On Sept. 19, a group of nine employees from National City Bank volunteered their afternoon at the McGaw YMCA Child Care Center. In the classrooms, volunteers interacted with children by helping with homework, reading stories and serving snacks. Sonja Coster, Vice President of Child Care Services, stated, "This group of versatile National City Bank volunteers enhanced the program at the McGaw YMCA Child Care Center by sharing their talents and time with us."
Sept. 19 was National City Community Appreciation Day. Many employees of National City Bank volunteered at 18 non-profit agencies throughout the area.

Additionally, National City Bank runs an annual United Way workplace campaign for their employees to contribute through payroll deduction. This year, they have increased their support to United Way by giving a $500,000 Challenge Grant for anyone giving a new or increased leadership gift of $1,000 or more. National City will match all funds.

Green Zone

Dorothy, It's Not Oz: Entering Evanston's Green Zone

By Victoria Scott

They call themselves the Green District.

Four new businesses clustered across from the main post office are dedicated to one or more aspects of sustainability.

Those who wonder what living "green" really means can get a taste with a stroll along the 1000 block of Davis Street this Friday night. On Oct. 5 the owners of these green businesses and some of their neighbors will host an event designed to lure Evanstonians west of the el and Metra tracks.

"We feel like the stepchild of downtown," says Fran Horvath, owner of Ethical Planet at 1110 Davis St. She hopes the First Friday series will help bridge the gap.

Most stores will stay open till 8 p.m. for the event. Shoppers can hear live music and get a free beverage with any food purchase at Wild Tree Café; meet Georgia Parker, chemist and esthetician, at Ashley Lauren Natural Products; find in-store specials and kids' treats at Tink-Tinks; and watch a demonstration of personal care products at Ethical Planet.

Those who are curious can linger a little and learn a lot.

Tree of life
Wild Tree Café, 1000 Davis St., is a small place with a grand scheme: "Think globally, eat locally" is its motto. Owner Jaqi Boyer opened in June 2006 with the intention of supporting health and local creativity.

Her comprehensive vision of environmental sustainability includes the café's use of zero-VOC paint, organic and fair trade products, recyclable coffee cups and energy-efficient equipment.

The Wild Tree has sprouted several branches: the café, an organic food co-op, a sustainable catering company and a non-profit organization.

On a sunny fall afternoon organic butternut and acorn squash and tomatoes are displayed in boxes in front of the glass cases. This is the co-op, an informal arrangement that three days a week offers café patrons a chance to buy produce in quantities as small as one local organic vegetable or one bag of fair trade coffee beans.

Another offshoot is Food from the Heart, a non-profit group that provides organic groceries to low-income women with cancer. Encircling these women with care, Ms. Boyer partners with the nearby Heartland Center, a long-established venue for wellness and holistic health.

Eco-conscious parenting
Tink-Tinks, 1104 Davis St., is geared toward modern parents with an environmental conscience and their children ages 0 to 3. Named for the firstborn of owner Charis Irving, the store carries glass bottles, cloth diapers, wooden and PVC-free toys and books and games.
Though Grandma, or great-gran, would recognize the concepts, the products are brand new.

Tink-Tinks stocks not one but three kinds of cloth diapers in numerous configurations - with pockets, liners and more. Though the per-diaper price sounds steep to the uninitiated, $17.95 goes toward a reusable commodity - not one headed straight to a landfill.
Some of the store's diaper bags are otherwise available only on the Internet; one converts to a backpack. Say good-bye to pastels and baby prints. These are funky enough to carry anywhere.

Recipes for beauty
Ashley Lauren Natural Products originated in a kitchen.

Georgia Parker started making her Ashley Lauren beauty products in her kitchen. Now they can be found on the shelves of her Davis St. salon.

Georgia Parker graduated from Loyola University with a degree in chemistry and computer technology. But when her daughter was born nine years ago, she decided to find a way to stay at home with her.

Having lost her hair before the pregnancy, she says she had a vision of the hair-growth product she later formulated. When she decided to launch a skin-care product business, she supplemented her knowledge of chemistry with information about women's skin by taking courses at the Skin Care Institute and earning a medical esthetician license.

Then she began mixing small batches of hair and skin care products in her home. "I use only natural, undiluted ingredients," says Ms. Parker. Ashley Lauren's signature blue bottles, she says, "help protect the integrity of the product."

What she calls her "one-minute facial in a bottle" cleans, tones tightens and exfoliates skin, she says, with a fragrant mixture of lemon, French lavender and rose.

News about her jojoba hair treatment oil spread quickly by word of mouth, she says, and two years after founding the company, she moved the business from her home to 1106 Davis St.

Three-and-a-half years ago she moved to 1102 Davis St., where she opened a salon offering the skin, scalp and hair treatments for men and women that she says now rival her products in popularity.

Vegan Heaven

Fran Horvath, owner of Ethical Planet, checks the labels of her store's wares so her vegan customers do not have to.

Like most vegans, Fran Horvath came to the diet for health reasons. Everything in the Ethical Planet, which she calls "a vegan general store," is free of animal products or by-products. She reads the labels so her customers do not have to.

Looking at replacement products show just how pervasive animal products.

The store carries vegan food - egg-, meat- and milk-free. Soy, seitan and mushrooms stand in for meat in the popular 20-minute, just-add-water vegan meals.

Here, shoes and belts here are made of hemp or canvas or faux leather, personal care products never tested on animals. Agave nectar replaces honey. There is even hemp milk, made from hemp seeds, which are usually called hemp nuts.
While her first concern is that her wares be vegan, Ms. Horvath also chooses organics where available. She searches out earth-friendly options, too, like recycled gear-and-chain clocks and toothbrushes made from recycled yogurt cartons.

And she buys locally when possible, stocking vegan soaps (deliciously scented with essential oils and organic plants), jewelry and greeting cards that are handmade in Evanston.
Everything old is new again in this up-and-coming neighborhood, where old-fashioned and cutting-edge are often the same.